parsons



J. H. PARSONS,

Patented Dec.- [3, |898.`

ROTARY ENGINE. I

(Application led Apr. 7, 1898:)

(No Mqdel.) 4 sheets-smi l,

A lll/111;

m7165565 Invenlmr' MNQ du@ me MORRIS PETERS co., Pno'rauwo.. wnsnluiwun, D t:V

Patented Dec.r|3, |898.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J; H. PARSONS.

RTARY ENGINE.

{Applicabign 'led'Apn A7 18.98.)

(No Model) Wzltnesses;

No. 6|5,89I. PatentedDec. I3, 1898.

.1. H. PAnsoNs. ROTARY ENGINE.

l (Appncatibn med Apr. 7, 139s.) (No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

[I 6 .5/ i I A V 5e V A' No. 6I5,89|. Patented Dec. I3, i898. J. H. PARSONS.

ROTARY ENGINE.

(Apblicacion meu Apr. 7, 189e.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

w: cams Pzrzns co., Fumo-uwe..WASHINGTON. n, c.

NiTnD STATES PATENT OFFICE...

JOHN Il. PARSONS, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES VILMER GOODING, ALFRED D. WARNER, AND CHARLES VARNER, JR., OF SAME PLACE.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 615,891, dated December 13, 1898.

Application filed April 7, 1898. Serial No. 676,772. (No model.)

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. PARSONS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wilmington, in the county of New Castle and State of Delaware, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the saine.

My invention refers to alternating-piston rotary engines for steam, air, gas, or any other motive agency; and it consists of certain improvements upon the engines embraced in my pending applications, Serial No. 646,856, filed August 3, 1897, and Serial No. 659,331, filed November 20, 1897, the object of the present invention being to provide a mechanism possessing superior efficiency and capability for use; and the invention therefore consists, essentially, in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, substantially as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

- In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional plan view of a rotary engine constructed in accordancewith my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional View of the same. Fig. 3 is an end elevation showing the mechanical devices for regulating the size of the steam-inlet opening. Fig. 4 is 'an end elevation, the cylinder-head being removed to show the pistons. Fig. 5 is a detail View showing the wheel or disk on the drive-shaft and the links'pivoted thereto, the drive-shaft and certain other parts being shown in section. Fig. 6 is an elevational view of a duplicate construction of my improved rotary engine arranged as a compound engine. Fig. 7 is a similar elevational view of a duplicate construction of my rotary engine arranged as a duplex engine. Fig. 8 is an end elevation of my engine, showing in section one form of reversing-valve mechanism. Fig. 9 is an inclined section on the line a' oc of Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a transverse section on the line y y of Fig. 8. Fig. 11 is a transverse section on the line .z ,e of Fig. 8. Fig. 12 is an end elevation of my improved engine, represented as equipped with a different style of reversinggear, which is shown in detail. Fig. 13 is a cross-section illustrating the parts of said rek versing-gear. Fig. 14 is an end elevation with the cylinder-head removed to show the pistons, certain parts of the reversing device being indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 15 is an end elevation of my improved engine, showing the means belonging to the said reversing mechanism for graduating the size of the steam-inlet opening.y

Similar letters and numerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughout all the different ligures of the drawings.

1 denotes the cylinder, having the integral head 2 and the removable head 3, said cylinder being cast integral with a supporting base or frame 6, which may obviously be of any desired shape and pattern. The inner head 2 is .provided with a boss 5, through which passes a shaft consisting of the rectilineal sections 8, 9, and 10, having different diameters, for apurpose to be hereinafter explained. That section of the said shaft that lies withinthe boss 5 is designated by the referencenumeral 8, and it is surrounded by a sleeve 11, which is rotatable upon and independent of the shaft-section 8 and which is supported within a surrounding sleeve of brass, Babbitt metal, or other suitable bearing material, as shown. On the shaft-section 10 is another sleeve 13. the shaft-section 10. A hub 12 011 shaft 8 is secured to or formed integral with the sleeve 11, and both sleeve 13 and hub 12 are formed integral with the piston 14. The shaft-section 9 above mentioned intervenes interme diately between the shaft-sections 8 and 10, and on this section 9 is a hub 16 of another piston 15, said hub being fast on section 9. Thus it will be seen that one piston practically interlocks with the other and applies its power to the actuated shaft at a point between the two points where the other piston applies its motive power thereto. lVithin the sleeve 13 is another sleeve 17, which is directly around shaft-section 10, and sleeve 13 This sleeve 13 is rotatable uponalso rotates within a Babbitt-metal or brass bearing 1S. In the head 3 of cylinder 1 is a central recess or hollow enlargement 7, that receives the bearing-sleeve 18 and also shaftsection 10, sleeve 17, and sleeve or hub 13. Also in the outer end of recess 7 is a disk or washer 19, that is pressed against the end of the shaft l0 by means of a spring 20, the object of this being to keep the shaft in proper position endwise.

The pistons 14 and 15 have the general wedge shape common to pistons of engines of this type, and for the sake of lightness they may be made hollow, as shown in Figs. l and 2; but when so made the interior cavities are closed to the entrance thereinto of the steam. These pistons are formed with peripheral grooves andv side grooves to receive suitable packing-strips.

In Figs. 4 and 14 I have shown pistons 14 and 15, having side packing-strips 70, which form a tight joint between the pistons and the heads 2 and 3 of the cylinder 1, and the sides of the pistons are preferably cut away, so as to leave a small space between them and the cylinder-heads, the spaces on the two sides communicating with each other through a port 35, running through a solid part of the piston, and thus steam can pass from oneside of the piston to the other, so as to give it a lateral balance, as it were, and prevent it from being pressed against the one head or the other.

21, 22, and 23 denote small packing-pieces held in position by springs or spring-pins, as shown, and used to make a steam-tight joint between the parts.

The driving-shaft 30, eccentric to the cylinder l and shaft 8 9 lO, is journaled in a bearing 50, formed or arranged on the main frame G in any desired or suitable manner. (See Figs. l and 2.) Secured to this shaft is a wheel or disk 3l, provided at diametrically opposite points with wrist-pins 32 32, to which are pivotally connected links 71 and 72, the opposite ends of which are secured to crankarms and 34, fastened, respectively, to the piston-sleeve ll and the shaft 8.

Located upon one side of cylinder l, as well as partially beneath the same, is the exhaustchamber 24, having suitable ports 25, that communicate 'with the interior of cylinder 1, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The exhaust-pipe 2G leads from the exhaust-chamber 24. Located upon the opposite side of cylinder 1 is .the live-steam chamber 27, entered by the steam-supply pipe 29 and communicating admitting more or less steam into the cylinder, accordingly as it may be needed. The segment-plate 3G is provided with a rack-bar 37, engaged bya pinion 3S on a shaft 39, that is supported in a bearing in the cover-plate 4, (see Fig. 1,) through which plate said shaft projects and is provided on its outer end with asquare head for the application of a wrench, or a lever-handle may be arranged to operate it, or it may be controlled by automatic means.

In that form of the engine shown in Figs. 1 and 2 I have illustrated no reversing mechanism; butin Figs.8, 9, lO, and l1 Ishowaconstruction and arrangement of parts whereby a reversal of the engine may be accomplished when desired, the engine proper shown in the latter gures being practically the same as that in Figs. l and 2, except as to the ingress and egress of steam from the cylinder.

In Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11, of which I am now speaking, 40 denotes a hollow chamber in the base of the engine-frame on the ontside of the cylinder-head, which chamber receives live steam from the boiler under full pressure. Above this chamber is a valvechamber 4l, containing a slide-valve 42, preferably of a segmental or curved form, corresponding to the shape of chamber 4l, said valve being shiftable by means of a pivoted lever 43, that connects with valve 42 by a rod 44. The valve 42 has ports 46 4G and a lateral recess 47. In the cylinder-head are ports 48 48, and alongside of chamber 40 are the exhaust or outlet passages 49 49. Then the valve 42 is in the position shown in Fig. 8, steam can pass from chamber 40 through port 45, then through the recess 47 and one of the ports 4S into the cylinder l, (see Fig. 11,) while at the same time the exhaust is emerging from the cylinder through the other one of ports 48, one of ports 46, and exhaust 49. (See Figs. 9 and 10.) When the valve 42 is shifted in position, the inletport will become the outlet and the outlet the inlet. v

In Fig. 6 there is illustrated a compound engine consisting of two engines A and A of my improved alternating-piston type, the same being arranged so that they will both IOO IIO

actuate the same shaft, which has thereon the balance-wheel 51 and pulley 52, it being noted that the passage 53 conveys the exhaust-steam from engine A to engine A.

In Fig. 7 I have shown aduplex engine consisting of two of my engines B and B'. These two are arranged, of course, to impart their actuating impulse to the same shaft, as in the case with the compound engine of Fig. (3.

In Figs. 12, 13, 14, and 15 I have represented an improved form of reversing mechanism, which I will now proceed to explain in detail. In the head 75 of the cylinder is a chamber 7 G, containing the live steam at boiler-pressure, from which the steam is admitted to the cylinder through one or the other of two points in an inlet-opening, which is shown at 7 7 Fig. 15, and which is covered by valve-plates 7 8 and 7 9, which can be moved so as to cover or uncover more or less of the said steam-inlet 77, as may be desired. Steaminlet 77 is a circular opening in which the segment-plate 78 is movable, the segmentplate 79 being likewise movable oradjustable over the opening 77 and over part of plate 78, as shown in Fig. 15. On plate 78 is a rack 80, and attached to plate 79 is a rack 81, the rack 8O being engaged by a pinion 65 and the rack 81 by a pinion64. The pinion 65 is rigid on the end of a horizontal shaft 54, and the pinion 64 is rigid on the'end of a :horizontal sleeve 63, through which sleeve the shaft 54 passes, said shaft and sleeve being supported in a bearing 82 in the front plate83 of the steam-chamber 76. On the shaft 54, outside the chamber 76, is rigidly fastened an arm 59, and alongside of it is another similar arm 58, which is securely fastened to the sleeve 63, said arms projecting upwardly and normally at an angle to each other. The arm 59 has a short horizontal projection 84 and the arm 58 a short projection S5, while projecting from the cover 83 or some other part of the machine are a couple of rigid pins 86 in horizontal line with each other and serving as stops for the arms 58 and 59, limiting the movement of said arms toward each other, it being further remarked that the arms are provided with springsl which normally draw them against the stops S6, as shown in Fig. 12. Supported pivotally on the outer end of the shaft 54 is a lever 56, which is kept upon the shaft by the end nut 87. Lever 56 has a catch 66, adapted to engage the notched sector 57, and thus hold the lever in any desired position. Lever 56 also has a downwardly-extending arm 55, whose lower end carries a pin that rides in the' irregular groove of the curved lever 53, which is pivoted at and which has a short projecting arml 61, bifurcated or forkedat the end and loosely inclosing thefree end-of a lever 62,that is fastened to a pin 88, journaled within the base of the engine-frame below the cylinder and rigidly attached to a curved plate 89,

which oscillates when the lever 62 is vibrated.`

The plate or bar 89 is loosely connected near each end with central pins 90, iixed in the plates 91 91, and hence the result of oscillating the bar 89 is tolaterally shift the plates 91 91 in a`horizontal but in opposite directions, the movement taking place in certain ways or guides provided for them, and they the steam-inlet port 77, opening said port at a certain point, so as to allow steam to enter at that point into the cylinder, and while this opening of the steam-port is being performed by the gearing arrangement which I have de- A scribed the grooved lever 53 is being oscillated by the movement of the arm 55, and the result is that one set of exhaust-ports 92 92 is being closed andthe other set opened by the shifting of the plates 91, as already explained. In reversing the engine the lever 56 will be thrown over to the other side, allowing the short lever 59 to resume its normal position against the stop 86 and depressing the lever 58 away from its stop, thus rotating'the pinion 64 and shifting the plate 79, so as to uncover the port 77 at a different point from before, and at the same time, through the mechanism described, the exhaust-ports on the one side of the cylinderwill be closed and those on the other side opened.

The object of having the shaft 8, 9, and 10 made with the different diameters is to facilitate the adjustment of the parts when they are assembled and enable the pistons 14 and l5 to be interlocked or interarranged the more easily.

It is unnecessary to enter into any lengthy description of the operation of my improved engine, as 'the same will be easily understood by those skilled in the art. When steam is admitted between the pistons through the live-steam-.inlet port, it will force the pistons forward, the rear piston acting as an abutment for the steam. The front piston will be rotated rapidly, while the rear one will rotate at about one-fourth the speed thereof, owing to the crank-and-link connections with the disk of the driving-shaft- After the front piston passes the inlet-opening and is nearing the exhaust the steam-supply will be cut off and said piston will be rotated by expansion, and as said piston thus nears the end of its stroke the steam-pressure will decrease, but the pull exerted on the driving-shaft will be approximately constant, as the leverage of the cranks and links will be increased owing to their change in position. When the piston reaches the exhaust-opening at the oppo site side of the cylinder, the other piston will have reached the inlet-opening, when it will become the fast piston and the first piston the slow one. This operation will be kept up continuously as long as steam is supplied to the cylinder, the speed of the two pistons alternately varying.

Although I have described my engine as being used with steam, yet it must be dis- IOO IIO

tinctly understood that I may employ air, gas,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In an alternating-piston motor, the combination with the cylinder having inlet and exhaust, of the pistons Within said cylinder and the shaft to which the pistons are attached, said pistons interlocking so that one applies its power to the shaft centrally of the other.

2. The combination with the cylinder, the shaft, and the piston, of inlet and exhaust ports, covers for said ports, and reversing mechanism consisting essentially of cog-racks on the steam-inlet covers, gears engaging said racks, and a leverage mechanism for operating the said gears, and mechanism for operating the exhaust-port covers consisting essentially of a grooved and pivoted lever, a lever-arm loosely engaging the grooved lever for the purpose of shifting it, a centrally-pivoted laterally-oscillatable curved plate carrying an arm which is vibrated by engagement with a projecting arm ot' the grooved lever, said curved plate being loosely connected at its ends with the exhaust-port covers, substantially as described.

3. In an alternating-piston motor, the cornbination with the cylinder having inlet and exhaust openings, of the pistons within said cylinder, the shaft actuated by the pistons, said shaft having a differential diameter, and one pis ton havinghubs or sleeves that inclose the shaft on opposite sides of the single hub or sleeve of the other piston.

4. In an alternating-piston motor, the combination with the cylinder having inlet and exhaust openings, of the pistons within said cylinder, said pistons having recessed sides which are connected by a port allowing steam to ll the spaces between the piston sides and the cylinder-heads, and thus counterbalance the pistons, substantially as described.

5. In an alternating-piston motor, the combination with the cylinder, the shaft, and the pistons, of inlet and exhaust ports, covers for said ports, and reversing mechanism consisting essentially of gearing for operating the steam-inlet covers and a leverage mechanism for operating the exhaust-port covers, together with a single lever for controlling both the inlet and exhaust devices, substantially as described.

6. The combination with the cylinder, the exhaust-ports and their sliding covers, of the grooved and pivoted lever, an operating-handle arranged to vibrate said lever, a centrallypivoted laterally-oscillatable curved plate, an arm rigidly attached to the pivot-pin of said plate and vibrated by engagement with a projecting arm of the aforesaid grooved lever, said curved plate being loosely connected at its ends with the exhaust-port covers, substantially as described.

7. In an alternating-piston motor, the combination with the cylinder having exhaustports and likewise inlet-ports, of covers for said ports, gears for operating the steam-inlet covers, said gears being carried by shafts having spring-provided arms and stops, and a leverage mechanism for operating the exhaust-covers, 'together with a lever for controlling both the inlet and exhaust devices.

S. In an alternating-piston motor, the combination with the cylinder having inlet and exhaust openings, of the pistons within said cylinder and the shaft to which the pistons are attached, a segmental plate located movably within the elongated arc-shaped steaminlet opening and adjustable to graduate the size of said opening, a rack-bar on said plate, and a pinion engaging said rack, substantially as described. Y

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

.T01-IN H. PARSONS.'

lVitnesses:

WILBUR L. Sassn, FRED HOLDMAN. 

